100 days on from the referendum on the European Union, Plaid Cymru has launched a scathing attack on the Westminster parties for their ‘shambolic, irresponsible and deluded’ response.
Plaid Cymru’s Brexit spokesperson, Jonathan Edwards MP, has criticised the Westminster parties for continuing to put internal party bickering before the interests of the country, 100 days on from the Brexit vote, leaving businesses and investors in the dark.
In the latest in a long line of confused statements, the International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox MP, claimed in a speech in Manchester earlier this week that UK trade with the EU will remain tariff-free even if the UK leaves the single market, despite Europe’s repeated assertions to the contrary.
The latest gaffe comes after the Labour First Minister of Wales was embarrassed for not knowing the difference between having access to the single market and being members of it, as he ordered his party in Wales to vote with UKIP and the Tories against continued membership.
Mr Edwards also attacked the Liberal Democrats for voting against single market membership in the National Assembly just two days after the Liberal Democrat leader made continued membership the centre point of his keynote conference speech.
Commenting, Plaid Cymru’s Brexit spokesperson, Jonathan Edwards MP, said:
“100 days after the EU referendum, the Westminster parties are all still utterly clueless on how to respond.
“We have a UK Government Brexit team being led by three clowns who think that wrapping themselves in Union Jacks and hoping for the best will lead to a sudden surge in economic growth.
“The International Trade Secretary believes that leaving the single market won’t damage the UK’s free trade agreements despite constant corrections from experts and the negotiators themselves.
“Wales has a Labour First Minister who doesn’t know the difference between being members of the single market – benefitting from free trade not only with the EU countries themselves but with more than 50 other countries across the world - and merely having access to it, just like any other country on the planet.
“We have a Labour Party that is so confused that it not only voted with UKIP against the single market in Wales, but voted also with the Tories to call for clarity on their own position.
“And while the leader of the Liberal Democrats in Westminster claims his is the only party fighting for continued membership of the single market, his colleague in Wales voted alongside Labour, the Tories and UKIP against single market membership, just a day after his speech.
“The Westminster parties don’t seem to take seriously the threats that Brexit poses to our economy. We have major international businesses operating here because of our membership of the single market - businesses that benefit from the fact that they can import supplies from anywhere in the single market, without paying tariffs. These businesses are threatening to leave, making tens of thousands of people redundant, and the Westminster Parties seem utterly clueless on how to respond.
“The Westminster parties are shambolic, irresponsible and deluded. It has been a hundred days since the vote to leave the EU and we still don’t have the slightest indication of what either the Tory UK Government or the Labour Welsh Government’s position is.
“Plaid Cymru has been strong, united and consistent – we must ensure continued membership of the single market to protect our exporters, to promote our manufacturing industry and to maintain our strong economic links around the world.”